"Yes," he said, "I can see a number of hoof-prints now you point them out. But how do you know that they are Indian prints?"
"Because they are unshod; besides, you see, instead of coming along in a crowd, as a drove of turned loose horses would do, the marks are all together, one after the other, as they came along in single file. There is no doubt they are a party of Indians."
"They are ahead of us," Frank said.
"They were," Dick said, "but thar ain't no saying where they are now; may be watching us."
The thought was not a comfortable one, and Frank grasped his rifle tightly as he looked round.
"Just stay where you are," Dick said; "we are in a hollow, and I will have a look round."
Dick made his way upon his hands and knees to the top of the brow, choosing a spot where the shrubs grew thickest, and making his way with such caution that Frank could scarcely keep him in sight. When he reached the brow he raised his head and looked round in all directions and then went on. It was nearly half an hour before he rejoined his companion.
"They have gone straight ahead," he said. "I went over the brow, and down the next hollow, and found their trail strong there, for the ground is swampy; they had certainly passed within an hour of the time I got there."
"How did you know that?" Frank asked.
"Because the water was still muddy where they had passed; it would have settled again in an hour after being disturbed, so they could not have been more than that time ahead. They were keeping just parallel with the line of march of the caravan."